‘Inherited’ a 2001 Lincoln Navigator with 40,000 miles. Right after I got it, the gear shifter started getting ‘stuck’- wouldn’t let me shift out of park. Was told to bear all of my weight on the brake pedal and keep trying- very hit or miss. Eventually, would always shift into gear- but sometimes after a 20 minute session of repeatedly trying to step on the brake/shift it into gear. One day, discovered a small metal pin on my floorboard- since then, shifting problem disappeared. NOW- car will shift into gear- but when I turn it off- the key gets stuck in the auxiliary position. I have to force it to get it to disengage. Was living with that till this Saturday when I got into the car- turned the key- and NOTHING!! Lights worked, a/c and radio worked- but not even the ‘clicking’ noise you get from a dead battery. Luckily, a smart guy with an Iphone came to my rescue and figured out to depress the brake pedal, shift the car into neutral- and that allowed him to turn the car on. Has worked since Saturday- but KNOW I need to take some action!! Have looked online- seen ‘solenoids’, ‘brake shifter assemblies’, ‘actuator assemblies’- HELP!! xo, stranded in san antonio
sounds like your brake safety switch fell apart. Have it replaced.
I don’t think you can fix this yourself. Likely this is a dealer repair. Something is amiss in the safety interlocks and possible the ignition switch itself. Sometime soon you won’t be going anywhere and it will be towed to the dealer then. Stuff breaks on a 12 year old car, continuing to drive it without finding and fixing the problem can just end up making things worse and more expensive to fix.
Lincoln Navigators break just like any other car.
Never look a gift horse in the mouth and never complain about the horses performance…
Is there a reason you have not simply taken it to get fixed?
I’ve only had this vehicle for a short period of time. Regretfully, I am more disappointed with the off-topic commentary than the car. It was my understanding that this forum was meant for actual discourse regarding automotive problems. I am not a mechanic. Through this exchange, I was hoping to sort through the information I had come across to gain some clarity before I walked into a repair shop and am “told” what is wrong with my car.
Lisa
If you are disappointed by the “off-topic” commentary, you should be even more disappointed by the person who gave you the VERY bad advice to " bear all of my weight on the brake pedal and keep trying."
Using brute force on mechanical devices is never good advice, and frequently results in higher repair costs in the long run.
While this is definitely hindsight at this point, the car should have been taken to the mechanic for replacement of the brake interlock switch right after you received it, rather than trying to beat the mechanism into submission.
But–the good news is that the repair costs will likely not be higher at this point than they would have been when you first got the vehicle.
@lisaS. Read your post again. It was quite confusing what you are seeking.
Good luck with the repair, and its okay to be told a diagnosis. It does not seem like a big deal.
“I was hoping to sort through the information I had come across to gain some clarity before I walked into a repair shop and am “told” what is wrong with my car.”
And that’s EXACTLY what happened…You now know the nature of the problem and what it’s going to take to fix it…What more could you ask for? I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings…
One thing you must do is avoid any more advice from someone who advises you that the proper fix is the use of a bigger hammer; which in this case turns out to be even more pressure from your foot.
A free 40k miles, '01 Navigator is not a disappointment. The original minor interlock hiccup is not a problem. The real problem is the bad advice you were given, continued stomping of the pedal, and putting off an actual repair.
Raj asked you a question to clarify an unclear problem description. UncleTurbo and I gave you opinions based on the (somewhat confusing) information you gave us. Caddyman made an offtopic comment. That’s a 75% on-topic rate within 3 hours, and you had one solid answer within 8 minutes of your post, yet you spent the better part of a paragraph telling us that you’re upset at the performance of this board, which gave you automotive advice for free that did not include “beat the hell out of your brake pedal because that will fix what is wrong, even though it is not known what is wrong.”
Sometimes, it’s just not possible to please everyone, I suppose.
I think we now know why she “inherited” the freebie Navigator in the first place…someone else got oh so disappointed by the truck too and threw it away because one minor part failed…
Gee whiz, stuff breaks. After 11 years, the brake interlock switch fell apart. So, it needs to be replaced. End of story.
Let’s not get too upset with the chatty opinionated comments on the forum. That’s why it’s enjoyable.
Would you like to sell the truck, really cheap??
<font color='blue"><b>lisaS</b> —</font><font color="blue" face="times"><i>"Regretfully, I am more disappointed with the off-topic commentary than the car."</i></font></blockquote> lisaS, YOU did not receive the off-topic commentary — Caddyman did (for no apparent reason). <p>Can’t anyone here play this game?</p>
I dont like this whole facebook style “like” and “Disagree” button stuff.
Very childish.
One person can get upset at you and then go to ALL of your posts and click on “disagree” or “flag” and your rep it totally ruined because of one person.
Thats my 2 cents
You should comment in the “Badges and Reactions” thread. If enough people dislike it, perhaps they’ll get rid of it.